Lufkin Air Force Station
Lufkin Air Force Station (1957-1961) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station located near Lufkin, Angelina County, Texas. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-193. Closed in 1961. HistoryEstablished in 1957 and became operational in January 1959 as Lufkin Air Force Station manned by the 815th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron. This station was one of eight stations established in the final phase of the Permanent AC&W Radar Program for the 33rd Air Division. The 33rd Air Division would remain a manual operation throughout the transition of the rest of the Air Defense System to the semi-automatic SAGE System. The Oklahoma City Manual Direction Center P-86 remained connected to these sites until they closed down one by one. Because the sites were never destined to become SAGE sites they received older less capable equipment and facilities and they were among the first to be closed when budgets constricted. The eight sites were:
The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning mission. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifying all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio. Initial equipment included the FPS-3A search radar and an FPS-6 height-finder radar. Manual System OperationIn November 1957 the 815th AC&W Squadron moved to Lufkin Air Force Station assigned to the 33rd Air Division (Defense) Headquartered at Oklahoma City Air Force Station. The 33rd Air Division provided command and control over subordinate radar stations from the Oklahoma City Manual Direction Center P-86 located on Oklahoma City Air Force Station.
ClosureLufkin Air Force Station and the 815th AC&W Squadron were deactivated on 1 Jun 1961.
Current StatusNow Lufkin State School, many buildings have been repurposed.
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